Critical Care

Microstream® Capnography provides an accurate and reliable assessment of your patient’s breathing quality, whether non-intubated or intubated.

Microstream Capnography monitors adequacy of ventilation regardless of patient type or procedure, providing an accurate, reliable, and easy-to-use assessment of a patient’s breathing

Microstream Capnography features innovative technology for patient interfaces:

An array of sampling lines for neonate patients
Special sampling lines for extremely humid environments interface
Sampling lines that reliably sample etCO2 from the nose and mouth
Option of delivering supplemental oxygen, while still producing crisp, accurate waveforms

Studies show the growing clinical importance of capnography

Reasons for adopting Microstream Capnography in Critical Care

Capnography provides critical patient safety information for the Critical Care nurse or respiratory therapist with an early indication of hypoventilation or respiratory distress.
Helps clinicians make decisions on weaning patients from mechanical ventilation and titrating pressure support
Provides a continuum of care when weaning a patient from a ventilator
Microstream Capnography easily switches between intubated or non-intubated use, with no zeroing, no individual patient calibration or reconfiguration required.
Easy-to-use – simply turn on the monitor, attach the sampling line, and you’re ready to use
The Joint Commission and ASA recommend monitoring adequacy of ventilation,^{1, 2} as provided by Microstream Capnography.
A recent study concluded that the absence of a capnograph contributed to 74% of airway-related deaths and persistent neurological injury reported from ICUs. The study also determined that the use of capnography would have identified problems at an earlier stage and prevented at least some of these deaths.³
Multiple studies have established that capnography detects respiratory changes, especially respiratory distress, minutes before SpO2 and more effectively than visual observation.^{4, 5}

¹ Joint Commission Accreditation Program: Hospital Chapter: Provision of Care, Treatment, and Services, 2008; The Administration of Moderate or Deep Sedation or Anesthesia.

² ASA: Practice Guidelines for the Prevention, Detection, and Management of Respiratory Depression Associated with Neuraxial Opioid Administration; Anesthesiology 2009; 110:1–1.

³ Cook TM, Woodall N, Frerk C. Major complications of airway management in the UK: results of the 4th National Audit Project of the Royal College of Anaesthetists and the Difficult Airway Society. Part 1 Anaesthesia. British Journal of Anaesthesia. doi:10.1093/bja/aer058 (BJA Advance Access published March 29, 2011, accessed April 4, 2011 at http://bja.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2011/03/25/bja.aer058.full.pdf+html).

⁴ Capnographic Monitoring of Respiratory Activity Improves Safety of Sedation for Endoscopic Cholangiopancreatography and Ultrasonography. Qadeer, Vargo et al. Gastroenterology; 136: 1568-1576.

⁵ Capnography is superior to pulse oximetry for the detection of respiratory depression during colonoscopy. Cacho G et al. Revista Espanola De Enfermedades Digestivas. February2010; 02(2), 86-89.

^* a clinically insignificant alarm is defined as a respiration rate alarm lasting continuously for less than 30 seconds or less than 45 seconds over a period of 60 seconds when compared to the previous respiration rate algorithm